During the most recent fiscal
year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 17% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund is managed to seek to track the performance of the
Index, which measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity
market.The Subadviser may endeavor to track the Index by purchasing every stock included in the Index, in the same proportions; or, in the alternative,
the Subadviser may invest in a sampling of Index stocks by utilizing a statistical
technique known as “optimization.” The goal of optimization is to
select stocks which ensure that various industry weightings, market capitalizations, and fundamental characteristics, (e.g., price-to-book, price-to-earnings, debt-to-asset ratios and dividend yields) closely approximate those of the Index.
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets are invested in stocks
that are in the Index. Although the Fund seeks to track the performance of the
Index, the performance of the Fund will not match that of the Index exactly
because, among other reasons, the Fund incurs operating expenses and other investment overhead as part of its normal operations. The subadviser may use derivatives to seek to track
the performance of the Index, including futures and total return swaps.
In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend
portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other financial institutions provided
that the value of the loaned securities does not exceed 30% of the Fund’s total assets. These loans earn income for the Fund and are collateralized by cash and securities issued or
guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any mutual fund, there can be no assurance that the
Fund’s investment objective will be met or that the net return on an investment in the Fund will exceed what could have been obtained through other investment or savings vehicles. Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by any bank, government entity or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If the value of the assets of the Fund goes down, you could lose money.
The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Fund.
Equity Securities Risk. The Fund invests principally in equity securities and is therefore subject to the risk that stock prices will fall and may underperform other asset
classes. Individual stock prices fluctuate from day-to-day and may decline significantly. The prices of individual stocks may be negatively affected by
poor company results or other factors affecting individual prices, as well as
industry and/or economic trends and developments affecting industries or the securities market as a whole.
Index Risk. In attempting to track the performance of the index, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments concerning a particular security, company or industry because the Fund generally
will not use any defensive strategies to mitigate its risk exposure.
Failure to Match Index Performance Risk. The ability of
the Fund to match the performance of the Index may be affected by, among other
things, changes in securities markets, the manner in which performance of the Index is calculated, changes in the composition of the Index, the amount and timing of cash flows into
and out of the Fund, commissions, portfolio expenses, and any differences in the
pricing of securities by the Fund and the Index. When the Fund employs an “optimization” strategy, the Fund is subject to an increased risk of tracking error, in that the securities selected in the
aggregate for the Fund may perform differently than the Index.
Market Risk. The Fund’s share price can fall because of weakness in the broad market, a particular industry, or specific holdings or due to adverse
social, political or economic developments here or abroad, changes in investor
psychology, technological disruptions, or heavy institutional selling and other conditions or events (including, for example, military confrontations, war, terrorism, trade wars, disease/virus
outbreaks and epidemics). The prices of individual securities may fluctuate,
sometimes dramatically, from day to day. The prices of stocks and other equity securities tend to be more volatile than those of fixed-income securities.
Mid-Cap Company Risk. Investing in mid-cap companies carries the risk that due to current market conditions these companies may be out of favor
with investors. Stocks of mid-cap companies may be more volatile than those of
larger companies due to, among other reasons, narrower product lines, more
limited financial resources and fewer experienced managers.
Derivatives Risk. The prices of derivatives may move in unexpected ways due to the use of leverage and other factors and may result in increased
volatility or losses. The Fund may not be able to terminate or sell derivative
positions, and a liquid secondary market may not always exist for derivative positions.